War on Azeroth
by Captain Wonderful
Summary: A young night elf has a destiny and she will fulfill it, no matter the cost. And by the time she's done, all of Azeroth will be involved.  Please Read & Review
1. Enter the heroine, well sort of

In the city of Darnassus a small night elf child was born, her hair was midnight blue, her skin pale grey and her face was unmarked. The child's parents were Tanavar Proudtree and Kaylai Riverwalker. Tanavar was a warrior and his wife was a priest who served the Sisters of Elune in the night elf capital city.

The childbirth had been long and painful for the elf woman and she was just able to hold her daughter in her arms. Tavanvar looked and his daughter, brushing his fingers over her slumbering face and turned to his tired wife Kaylei,

"My dear she is beautiful. You have done so well."

At that moment the newborn opened her eyes revealing their soft silver glow. The parents and midwifes all smiled at the giggling child. It was an a truly beautiful moment. Her mother smiled down at her,

"She shall be Deliantha."

* * *

The child known as Deliantha grew up with the priestesses in Darnassus until she was the age of nine. Her life there was wonderful, she was doted on by the sisters and loved by her parents. She played in the temple gardens, watched the business men in the Tradesman Terrance and heard stories in the Warrior's Terrance. She was a truly happy child.

But her whole world changed in the year she turned ten, when she was playing in the Temple of the Moon. The young elf had stayed late into the night, everyone else had left the Temple hours ago, leaving Deliantha to her own devices. The little girl splashed about in the shimmering fountain, battling pretend enemies.

"Take that!" she shouted at an invisible foe before she burst into giggles. At that moment she noticed that the water beneath her seemed to be glowing more brightly. When she glanced up at the skylight the full moon above was shining directly down at the fountain and grew brighter every second, Before long Deliantha found she couldn't look at the water anymore because it blinded her. Then she threw up her arms to shield herself from it and the light flashed in a sudden burst then died back down.

When she looked again Deliantha saw that the brightness was only coming from one spot. It shone directly from the body of a night elf woman. Or at least that is what she thought it was for no elf woman could look as she did. Her skin was pale and her eyes shone as the moon. She had waist length silver hair, held back from her face with a thin golden circlet. Her ears were long and pointed as a night elf but were angled higher. She wore gossamer robes that fell off her shoulders and loosely about her waist with long sleeves. Her face was soft and had a calm expression. Normally Deliantha would be sacred of an unknown intruder but something about the woman was calming.

The ever present light seemed to almost float about the woman as she waded through the water towards Deliantha.

"Wh-who are you?" she stammered, with a nagging feeling in the back of her head that she already knew her. It was like trying to remember a face from some half forgotten dream.

"My dearest, surely you can guess. I am Elune." the moon goddess smiled lovingly down at Deliantha's shocked beyond belief face. Never before had she imaged Elune would ever come to her, not even in her wildest fantasies.

"M-my lady, it's an honor!" She fell nervously into a bow.

"Little one stand so that I may look at you." Deliantha hastily stood up. "You have grow so well Deliantha."

"Th-thank you, My lady." The goddess smiled sadly as she looked at the girl.

"Shame, I would have liked to see what you would have become on your own."

"What do you mean, Lady Elune?" Deliantha was scared, she didn't understand what was happening, but she knew it was something important.

"Tell me child, do you think you could give up everything you have right now for me?" the words were sudden and terrifying, it didn't make sense to her young mind. But under the layer of fear was a small seed of excitement, like she'd been waiting for this moment.

"I-of course My Lady. I would do anything you asked me." She clasped her hands together and stepped forward, splashing the water in her earnest to please. The glowing goddess smiled softly and placed a hand on the child's head ruffling her long hair.

"I am glad little one. I have an important task for you." she moved her hand, extending it, palm up to her right as she spoke. "There is so much evil, hatred and violence in this world. I have grown weary of watching so many die needless deaths and become seduced by the darkness." The moonlight started to gather in her hand in a bright sphere. "But there is little I can do for my children and it brings me great sadness." The sphere stopped growing and Elune brought it between them and held it at Deliantha's eye level. "This is where you come in, little one."

"I don't understand." she whispered.

"You, my child are to be the light in the ever darkening world, the voice of peace amongst war cries. For it is my dearest wish for the people of Azeroth to live in an era of peace, where lives can be lived without the horrors of war. Where there is unity and understanding in the place of separation and distrust." The moonlight was now pressed against Deliantha's heart and it brought a comforting warmth and chilling power. "Become one with me and become the light for everyone to follow."

Once more the moonlight overcame her sight and she was blinded. When she could see, Elune was smiling at her and brought her face down to her ear. "Good luck, little one." she whispered before pressing her lips to Deliantha's cheek and faded away into the night.

The young night elf stood frozen for a moment before touching her cheek, wondering if it had all been a dream. But when she bent over the water to look at her reflection something was different. Her face had once been unmarked but now in the place where the goddess had kissed her there was a dark shadow of a crescent moon. Her thin fingers traced it's curve when she was suddenly hit with the enormity of what had just happened to her.

The goddess of the moon herself had just asked her to bring peace to all of Azeroth.

'How am I supposed to do this?' Deliantha started trembling and sunk to her knees in the water. Just before tears could fall a warmth passed through her, spreading from her heart. Right from where the moonlight had touched her. She placed a hand there and smiled, she didn't know how but she could feel that it would all work out.

She didn't know how long she stayed there but soon the chill of the water made her shiver and she became aware of how late it was. She hastened to the edge of the pool and pulled her robe on over her under clothes she'd been swimming in. She tore out of the temple and raced home. Her house was small and stone, Deliantha scaled the plant growth on the back wall and pulled herself into her open window. From the sounds in the house she could tell that her parents were asleep.

At that moment she was struck with the thought of how she would explain what happened to her. Surely her mother would understand and believe her and she knew her father would know how to help. She didn't quite know how the rest of the night elf population would react to her story. If she could Deliantha would chose to keep it a secret but the mark on her face would raise questions. She knew she would have a difficult time in the morning but Deliantha decided to worry about it then as she crawled into bed, exhausted.

* * *

Alino Axemaster was a mystery to everyone that knew her, nobody could quite understand her. All her family before her had been Druids and Priests but she had chosen the path of a hunter. And despite that she had terrible luck with taming almost any kind of animal. She couldn't get them to come near her. Yet one day she had traveled down the Darkshore and gone traipsing through the Stonetalon Mountains and come back with an enormous chimaera following her around.

She was an amazing archer able to hit a rabbit in the eye from nearly a hundred yards and had been offered several high ranking position in the Sentinel Army. And every time has turned the offer down in favor of doing nothing in particular around Darnassus. Occasionally she would leave Teldrassil to join the war for months at a time. Whenever she wandered back to her home she always brought home odd things, such as Warchief Thrall's left boot or Vol'jin's voodoo mask and even Cairne Bloodhoof's nose ring. She never told anyone how she got the last one, only said something about not recommending trying it. Yet despite her sneaky abilities she was sometimes downright clumsy. She once broke a large branch from the Cenarion Enclave Tree, and again nobody actually knew how she manged it.

And she never worshiped a deity of any kind, no Ancients, the Light or even Elune. Never once did she ever say a prayer or mention any of Azeroth's many religious icons. Which was why when one day she came talking about seeing the moon goddess people were even more confused by the strange elf. Some were even angry because they thought she was mocking them.

The world was a mystery to Alino Axemaster, it just didn't make any sense to her. People were shocked when she decided to be a hunter just because her family had all been Druids and Priest. But surely they must have known that just because she was related to them didn't mean she was like them. And just because she was a hunter they expected that every animal loved her and then they were surprised when she had gone out and found one that did.

When she had denied becoming a Sentinel they wondered why, but she didn't. Because she knew that even if your good at something doesn't mean it's good for you. When she went to fight int the war Alino always thought that the Horde and Alliance were far too serious and often pulled pranks in an attempt to make them lighten up. And it seemed to work judging by the side splitting laughter she left the majority of the Horde leaders in. Also she was sometimes bit careless which resulted in the breaking of somethings. She never ever understood why it had been such a big scandal, it wasn't like they used the branch for anything.

But the thing that confused her the most is why everyone assumed that she didn't worship Elune. She just didn't see the point of praying all the time, if people spent half the time they prayed actually doing something they'd find that they wouldn't have much to pray for. And then when she did talk about Elune they thought she was mocking them. Honestly couldn't they just accept that she saw the goddess talking to a little girl at the temple? Alino would never understand the world, it was just a little to crazy for her.

* * *

The morning came quickly for Deliantha and she woke to the sounds of her mother cooking. Without really thinking about what had happened to her the little girl ran downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning Deliantha, how was your- Oh my!" Kaylai had turned around to greet her daughter only to gasp in shock and drop a wooden plate. It was at this moment that Deliantha remembered to moon on her face.

"Umm, Ishnu Na'da." she said nervously, shifting from foot to foot.

"By Elune, what's happened to your face?" the night elf woman was clutching her heart in shock.

"Well Na'da you see, I was- I mean there was- at the Temple I- Elune-" the child was stuttering and rocking back and forth before she managed to spit out, "Elune visited me at the Temple last night." both mother and daughter were absolutely silent before,

"What do you mean? What's this nonsense!" Kaylai face was scrunched up in distaste and anger. "What have I told you about making up stories, and to think you would lie about Lady Elune of all things. How dare you? Now go wash your face clean!"

"B-but Na'da I c-can't. I wasn't lying. Elune-"

SMACK!

Deliantha fell to the floor in shock, her own mother who had always loved her had just hit her. Tears welled up in her eyes,

"Na'da, I-"

"Shut-up! Now stop lying or get out!" shock froze her body as her mind slowly processed what was happening to her.

"I'm not lying." Her mother's glaze was hard and cold.

"Then get out and don't come back until you apologize to me and to Lady Elune." Deliantha slowing stood, her body trembling from trying to not cry.

"Na'da please-"

"I'm not your mother anymore."

She could take no more and ran from the house, tears streaming down her cheek and this time the warmth didn't come.

* * *

That afternoon Alino was walking away from the Tradesman Terrace with her hands in her pockets and slouching dejectedly as she absently kicked a small rock along the bridge to the Temple Gardens. That morning she had told her friends of what she saw last night, Lady Elune talking to a small girl in the Temple of the Moon. And every time she told someone she was either laughed at or given nasty comments.

When she reached the small island before the main one she heard a strange sniffling sound. It was a little girl crying, her feet dipped in the water and tears streamed down her face. But it was not just any little girl. Alino recognized her as the little girl she had seen at the temple, talking to Elune! She quickly made her way over to her.

"Ishnu-alah, little one. Why do you cry?" the child's head snapped up in surprise for she hadn't heard Alino walk over.

Deliantha had been sitting on one of the small islands in Darnassus, unsure where to go and what to do when a voice had broken the silence. It was a hunter. She was slender but her muscles rippled powerfully under her pink tinted skin and her green hair was chopped short, just at her neck. Her markings were also green and made an 'x' across her face. She carried a large axe across her back but in-spite of her tough appearance she was smiling softly at the young elf girl. She sniffed again,

"Who are you?" Alino smiled gently down at her,

"I am Alino Axemaster. What is your name little one?" Deliantha paused, she no longer felt that she could have the name her mother gave her. Somehow it felt wrong, like she was longer Deliantha.

"I'm-" frantically she thought of a new name, "Shira Moonlight."

"Well that's a pretty name for such a pretty elf. But tell me, why do you cry?" Shira turned back to face the water trying to rub the tears from her face.

"My Na'da, she-she hates me!" she hiccuped before breaking into a fresh round of tears. Alino sat down next to her, draping an arm across thin shoulders that shook from her sobs.

"Oh come now little one, surely not?"

"She does! She told me I c-couldn't come h-home and that she w-wasn't my m-mother anymore." Alino was shocked, suddenly the world made even less sense. How could any mother say such things to her own child?

"Why would she say that to you?"

"Na'da thought I was lying about-" Shira broke off not wanting to anger the kind young hunter in the same way as her mother. But Alino already knew what the problem was,

"She thought you lied about Elune, right?" Alino's voice was hushed as she spoke. Shira's head snapped up and her eyes grew wide in astonishment.

"How did you know?" Alino merely chuckled at the little girls shocked face.

"I saw you at the Temple last night. You were talking to her." Hope spread across Shira's tear-stained face.

"You believe me then?" Alino faked shock,

"Well of course I do! My best friend used to always say; 'You can believe in anything you want, but the only truths in the world are what you see with your own eyes.' Aah he was always so smart." At this she pulled a goofy expression on her face and clasped her hands together in an attempt to make Shira smile. It worked and Shira dissolved into a fit of giggles. "See, I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Alino grinned,

"That you'd be a million times cuter when you laughed." Shira's smile soon faded as a new problem arose in her mind.

"Thank-you for being so nice but-" she turned to stare helplessly up at Alino. "What do I do now? I can't go home, I don't have any money or clothes and I don't have any training to go do things."

"Well as to that I'd think it was obvious, you'll live with me and I'll get you everything you need until you can complete your training." Words couldn't describe the pure shock and happiness that Shira felt at the moment.

"R-really? You'd do that for me?" Alino stood up, bringing Shira to her feet as well,

"Of course I will, don't worry Shira. You'll never be alone."

This time it wasn't the moonlight that brought warmth to her heart.


	2. A new life starts and friends appear

Alino was true to her word and immediately took Shira out to buy new clothes. She was amused by the younger girl's shy excitement over the dresses, they bought about six in different colors. With the packages in one hand and Shira in the other the hunter lead her young charge to her house in the woods between the Craftsmen's Terrace and the Cenarion Enclave.

The house was made of smooth white stone and had ivy growing all over it. Surrounding it was a short wooden fence and a wooden stable was visible from the backside of the house. Leading her inside Alino put the dresses down and spread her arms wide,

"Welcome to Travelers Paradise!" Shira giggled at her antics

"You named your house?" Alino grinned, place her hands on her hips,

"Yup, because it's what Delinet called the place. He said something about it being a hotel for travelers because I let them stay here for free if they need a place to crash." Shira was amazed that someone could be as open-hearted and kind as Alino was. She let people stay in her home for free and was letting her stay there indefinitely, even buying her new clothes when she had nothing left. Shira struck with a sudden thought that perhaps Alino would have been a better choose to bring peace to Azeroth, and her good mood dimmed as she was reminded of her daunting task. Alino noticed the sudden change, "What's wrong little one? Do you not like it here?"

"Oh no! It's lovely here, I'm fine." She smiled up at her in hopes to convince her new friend that she was indeed fine. Alino seemed to buy it.

"Well alright then, shall we take a tour?"

"Yes please." Alino took Shira through the two story house.

"Here's the kitchen and that goes to the basement, over here is the sitting room and the closet. Here's the upstairs, we used to have five bedrooms but we knocked down one of the walls and made the last two into a big one. There's about six bunk beds in there, it's where the guests sleep. Here's my room and this can be yours." her nonstop rambling distracted Shira from her worries and sparked her curiosity,

"What's the last room for?" she said, pointing at the closed door at the end of the hall way.

"Hmm? Oh that? It's Delinet's room."

"That's your friend right? He lives with you? Will he mind me living here?" Alino chucked and ruffled her hair,

"Yeah he's the friend I told you about. He wouldn't care if you stayed but it doesn't really matter because he isn't here right now. "

"Huh? Where is he?" She was now very interested in the man that Alino kept talking about.

"He went to fight in the war about, oh a year ago." Alino scratched her chin thinking, "You know, now I'm really glad your staying here. Even with people passing through it gets kind of lonely without someone here all the time." she smiled again at Shira. "Come on, lets go introduce you to Kalar!" before she could even ask who Kalar was Shira was whisked down stairs and out the back door, to the stable.

Kalar as she soon learned was Alino's hunter pet and a giant chimaera. The large feral beast was quite scary with it's two snarling dragonish heads. But her fear was quickly diminished as Kalar licked her face and made happy noises. Alino jumped around happily, convinced that they were now the best of friends.

* * *

Over the next few weeks Shira adjusted her life to Alino's daily routine. When she woke in the morning she would start making breakfast and soon Alino would come home from her morning hunting and they would eat together. After that Alino usually had some business to take care of around the city. When she was out Kalar would take Shira for walks through the woods even letting her fly on him. Afterwards they would all play together in the forest around the Cenarion Enclave until it was dinner time. But every few nights Alino would get asked to take care of something outside of the city and Shira would be left to herself. Whenever this happened she generally busied herself with taking care of what ever guests the might have. For there was least one every other night.

It was one such night when Alino was helping with the harpy infestation and Shira was cooking dinner for a regular guest, Balkkin who stayed there whenever he was in Darnassus. He was very friendly and always told stories. Just before she could sit down to her meal a knock came on the door. She excused herself and went to answer the door.

"Ishnu-dal-dieb!" she said cheerily to the person on the other side of the door.

"Um, sorry but my Darnassian isn't that good." said a soft voice in Common. On the other side was a human woman with tanned skin and light blonde hair and blue eyes. She had on light armor and carried a deadly looking polearm. Shira immediatly switched to Common,

"Oh, Hello. Did you come to stay the night?" she seemed relived that Shira could speak a language that she understand.

"Yes, when I said I didn't have any money I got kicked out of the inn. But thank the Light someone told me I could stay here." she looked nervous for a moment, shifting from one foot to another. "I can stay here, can't I?"

"Yes of course!" Shira exclaimed happily and ushered the woman inside. "Alino would never except payment from travelers, even if they did have it." The women set her pack and polearm down in the hallway as they made their way to the kitchen. "You came just in time, we just sat down to eat."

Balkkin nodded at the women and handed her a bowel of soup and the three of them started into their meal. After the first couple bites Balkkin started and conversation with the human,

"So what brings you to Darnassus?" he said in his deep rumbling voice.

"Oh nothing much, my guild sent me up here with a message for one of our members." She took a bite of her food before continuing, "Plus I've always wanted to come to Teldrassil. It's so beautiful here." she smiled before a look of shock crossed her face. "Oh! I can't believe it. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Teldeo Goldsword of the Hawk's Nest Guild." she grinned and held out her hand to Balkkin who shook it firmly.

"I am Balkkin Snakesinger of the Elven Hunters Division. And this is our lovely host, Shira Moonlight." Balkkin ruffled the little girls dark blue hair as she grinned at Teldeo.

"Aren't you a little young to be running your own inn?" the woman asked playfully.

"Well yeah, but that's why Alino's in charge and not me. I'm just as much of a guest as you are, just a little more longterm."

"Who's Alino?" she inquired

"The owner of this house, and the craziest elf I've ever met. She's out tonight but you'll meet her tomorrow if you hang around." Balkkin answered. The three continued talking for a time before a huge yawn from Shira made Balkkin insist everyone go to bed.

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	3. An interlude of Trolls

Sinnao hated Durotar. It was hot, dry and smelled funny. The cracked earth scoured her bare feet and she was constantly thirsty. She had lived in the Horde capital city of Orgrimmar since she was 8, ten years and she still wasn't used to it. She preferred the cool jungle that was her ancestral home in Shatterspear. She could never understand how the Darkspear tribe could possibly be in any state of comfort but she supposed that not knowing anything else had affected their standards.

The young troll was brought from her thoughts by a sharp wolf whistle. Her head snapped to her right were a low level male Orc had let out the offending sound. He winked at her and waggled his eyebrows before sauntering away. She snorted with disgust, yet another problem in her life caused by the heat. Sinnao couldn't wear heavy or long clothing for fear of suffering from heat strokes. She looked down at her clothes; a short pair of light cloth pants and a set of dark blue cloth strips covering her chest.

With a sign she slowly stood from the edge of a pool where she had been dipping her feet. Grabbing her battle axe and bow and quiver the hunter made her way back to the hut she lived in.

* * *

Hujii'fon loved being in Durotar. It was a place where he was welcomed as a troll and not ignored like his childhood home in Mulgore. When he had finally moved back to his birth home in Sen'jin village he felt immediately at peace, in more ways than one. In the home of the Tauren the spirits of nature spoke softly and slowly as they were more in tuned with the calm Tauren shaman and he often had a hard time being able to speak with them. But in the home of his people nature was quick and wild and he could easily fit himself into the flow it traveled on.

But Hujii'fon had no time to waste thinking about such things; there was work to be done. He added a few more herbs to the bubbling pot before him, all the while softly chanting in Zandali. His mother Zufli'Dondli was mixing a powder nearby singing silly rhymes and giggling. He rolled his eyes at the crazy witch doctor. He let the liquid in the pot settle down before bottling it.

With a farewell to his mother Hujii'fon set out for a walk around the village.

* * *

The walk back to her hut was long as it sat on the outskirts of the village, but it gave Sinnao time to return to her former musing.

_'I hate it here, I should have gone back to Shatterspear as soon as I was old enough.' _Despite her longing for the small mountain village Sinnao knew she could never leave her sister behind, no matter how much she despised the heat. As she walked she toed up a rock and was absently kicking it, not paying attention to her surroundings. That is until she ran into something

* * *

His walk through the village was peaceful, the sun was low and only a few people were wandering around. Hujii nodded at the ones he knew and exchanged pleasantries with a few.

"Hey fon-fon!" was the shout from his fellow witch doctor in training, Bom'bay who pasted him carrying a large totem. He turned back to wave, but when he faced forward he ran it to something, knocking it over.

* * *

Sinnao lay stunned on the ground for a moment before she could realize what had happened. Lifting her head up and pushing her body to her elbows she saw what had knocked her down.

It was a troll. Of course. He was quite a bit taller than she was, and stood slightly more straight than any male troll she had ever met. He had light purple skin and dark pink hair in a thick Mohawk with a single braid falling on the right side of his face. His protruding tusks were decorated with leather cords that had bits of bone and feathers dangling from them. He was wearing Shaman clothes and carried a staff that had different talismans and tusks hanging from it. He was looking about as shocked as she was at their collision.

After a small pause he seemed to break his stupor and reached down to help her up.

"Hey mon, sorry I not be looking where I be walking." Sinnao took the offered hand and was lifted to her feet as easily as if she were a rag doll.

"It's okie, I wasn't looking neither." the male was still looking rather concerned,

"Ya sure? Hujii didn't hurt ya none did he?" she smiled at him, usually male members of the Horde were rude and it was refreshing to meet such a nice one.

"Ya mon, I be fine." she held out her hand, "I Sinnao." He smiled back at her, taking her hand and shaking it.

"Hujii'fon. Ya know I still feeling bad bout knocking ya over. Can I make it up ta ya?" Sinnao shrugged

"Sure if ya be really wanting to." Hujii's smile grew wider,

"Alrighty mon, I be taking ya ta eat." Despite her wanting to just go home and sleep she agreed and soon found herself sitting at the inn.

* * *

Hujii'fon wasn't quite sure why he felt as if he had to make up for knocking down Sinnao but she was just so small and little looking. Also to him she didn't look like other Darkspear trolls and was curious about her. Her skin wasn't as thick as it should have been and her hair a shade of white hair that was uncommon among their people. And she had dark green eyes instead of the usual red.

Despite his unknown reasons for inviting the hunter to eat with him he was glad that he did, she was quite interesting to talk to.

"So mon, where you be from?" the female troll paused her eating to answer,

"Shatterspear village but I be living in Orgrimmar for a long, long time." that explained her unique appearance.

"Aa, so how you be liking Sen'jin?"

"It's okie but it be burning every day."

Their conversation continued from there and well into the evening and before they knew it the owner was closing up shop. The two trolls parted and fell asleep with smiles on their faces that night


	4. The start of another's story A warrior

The fighting rings in Orgrimmar aren't the place to find refined or friendly company. They were the place to find the toughest, meanest and roughest members of the Horde. And it was there that you can find a young Orc female named Kalmat.

She was a battle hungry warrior with only one goal in life: winning. She was unbeatable and had been since she started picking fights when she was eight.

Kalmat was average size for an Orc with light yellow-green skin. Her dark, purple hair was in two long pigtails on either side of her otherwise bald head. Her facial feature were smooth and relaxed; black eyes held a calculating glint.

A simple chain mail vest covered her chest, leaving her muscular arms bare. She wore plain leather pants and heavy boots. Her weapon of choice was a battle axe with a large blade and a short but sturdy handle. The weapon which was usually within arms reach of Kalmat was resting against the stone wall of the fighting arena. It's owner was staring down the hulking form of the Orc hunter, Tafra. The two eyed each other as they stepped into the arena.

The assembled audience was shouting at the fighters, anxious for the brawl to start. Tafra, tired of waiting lunged at his opponent. He'd meant to pin her to the floor, but he never even laid his hands on her. Kalmat had stepped inside his arms and punched him straight in the face. Her hand continued forward to grasp the short tuff of auburn hair on his head and brought her other hand to grab his belt buckle. Tafra was lifted off the ground and tossed over Kalmat's head and into the wall behind her. He lay there stunned for a moment before slowly getting up and announcing,

"Geez, I give, I give." He grumbled but also sounded vaguely amused, "Was that really necessary?" he asked the young warrior. She grinned,

"No, but it was fun." the two Orcs moved out of the arena to make way for the next fight.

Kalmat smiled at her friend. Her strength and battle prowess earned her the respect of the Horde. But she could count few of them as her loyal friends. And none so much as Tafra , who had stood by her since they were children. He was never bothered by her ferocity, no matter how many times he saw her take out enemies and beasts many times her size or even how much he himself was beaten. Their unique friendship had been the cause of many rumors throughout the capital city, few of which had been polite. But neither friend cared very much what was said about them.

"So, Kalmat" he started, "Do you have time for a bite to eat?" she shook her head regretfully.

"No. I must get going if I'm to reach Sen'jin by tonight." the warrior was comissioned by the Darkspear tribe to help with their efforts to reclaim Echo Isles. Word of her strength had spread far and wide by now, and this wasn't the first time she'd been asked to assit with something.

A while later she was walking along road alone when she heard a long crack. Kalmat was halfway between Orgrimmar and Sen'jin and the sun was sinking lower into the sky. The warrior stopped walking and stared intently into the rocky landscape trying to pinpoint where the sound had come from. She could see a few boars in the distance but the area around her was still and silent. In fact it was too still, no snakes or hares running around. The only other thing around was a rotting corpse of a scorpid, it's shell ripped apart and shredded with strange markings. Kalmat drew her axe and moved closer to inspect the wounds when she heard a small rustle behind her. She whipped around, ready to fight when she felt a searing heat and then, darkness.

* * *

The young warrior came to her senses some time later and found herself burned and bound, the pain was such that she could bring herself to struggle. She realized that her eyes were also covered and she had no idea where she was or more importantly, where she was being taken. The only clue she had to who her attacker was, was the feel of a large rough hand dragging her by the collar of her shirt. For the first time in her life fear began to seep into her mind as she once more succumbed to darkness.


	5. Back to Darnassus

It was nearing a month in time that Shira had been living and working at Travelers Paradise and she never been happier. Last night she had meet the human paladin, Teldeo. Her and Balkkin both enjoyed the woman's company which filled the quiet they were left in whenever Alino left for the night.

The green haired hunter had enter the house when all three were starting breakfast holding a dead deer and grinning broadly. Alino and Teldeo had hit it off right away as they skinned the deer together and soon the four had whiled the morning away talking. It was Teldeo who'd finally noticed, "Oh no!" she gasped, standing very quickly.

"What is it?" asked a bewildered Alino.

"I've just remembered, I have to find my guild mate and deliver the message." she had raced to the door, grabbed her polearm and had a hand on the door when she turned back to them, "Only," she bit her lip "I don't where to find him." Balkkin answered,

"What is his name? Maybe we can help."

"Hidore Rainrunner." the woman answered thankfully. Her statement was meet with silence and dark expressions on both hunter's faces. "What's wrong?" she asked nervously, "Do you not know him?"

"No," said Balkkin slowly "We're probably the only two people in Darnassus who can tell you where he is."

"Well that's great!" she said excitedly. "Where can I find him?" her smile faded at the gloom surrounding her hosts, "What's wrong?" this time it was Alino who answered,

"He's gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" Alino shrugged. "You said you knew where he is."

"Well we know where he went. But he's been gone along time, nearly a year." Teldeo returned to her seat in shock, "Could you tell me what happened." they all sat down at the table for the story. Shira was now curious about what everyone was talking about, and had the queerest feeling it was important. Alino started talking in an almost shaky voice,

"Me, Balkkin, my friend Delinet, Hidore and a priestess Shalune where working a job in Darkshore. It was almost dusk when we heard this noise, like a loud crack. We went out to see what it was, Hidore and Shalune went one way and we went the other. After looking around we gave up finding whatever made the noise. When we found Hidore he was knocked out on the ground and Shalune was nowhere to be found." Teldeo looked queasy as she spoke,

"But, what could have happened?" Balkkin shrugged as he continued the story,

"We're not sure, when he woke up all he could remember was being hit from behind. And the only clues we had were a bunch of weird claw marks on the ground." the hunter shook his head sadly, "I told him it was a bad idea but he wouldn't let it go." Shira finally spoke up,

"He went after her? But that's dangerous!" she exclaimed worriedly. Alino nodded and smoothed down the girl's dark blue hair to sooth her.

"That's what we told him but he was determined to find her." she sighed sadly, "He loved her, you see. And he was willing to die to find her." By now Teldeo was white-faced with worry,

"You, you mean he's dead?" Alino smiled for the first time since the conversation started,

"No, when it was apparent we couldn't stop him Delinet offered to go with him." she turned to Shira, "Remember I told you that he left a year ago." she nodded,

"Yeah, you said he went to fight in the war." the hunter nodded once more,

"Yes little one, but it was a more complicated than that." Balkkin then took up speaking again, trying to comfort the grief-stricken paladin.

"We're sorry you can't deliver your guild's message. What was it that you were going to tell him?" Teldeo didn't answer immediately, in fact she looked like she was going to be sick. But finally she overcame her horror long enough to answer.

"I was supposed to tell him that the engagement ring he ordered is finally finished." she shook her head sorrowfully, "I guess he wouldn't need it even if he was here. I just, it's too awful to believe. You don't even have a clue where they are?" She said with a pitiful hope, which was crushed by the shaking heads of the two elven hunters.

"They lost contact nearly two months after they left, they were heading through Ashenvale forest, and mentioned heading down to the Barrens but the was the last we heard of them." Teldeo was nearly in tears to hear the fate of her guild mate, who she revealed to be a good friend. The reason she'd volunteered to deliver the ring was because they'd not seen each other in years. Alino and Balkkin were sharing stories and trying to console their new friend.

While this was happening Shira made the excuse of going to feed Kalar to get out of the house. She felt suffocated by the depressing atmosphere that had over taken the house that had become her refuge from her old life. She felt awful for the three adults in mourning and for the other three that she might never meet. The young girl walked through the city aimlessly, lost in her thoughts when she heard a familiar voice from the crowd;

"Yes, it's just like I was telling you Marial you need to splurge a little when it comes to staffs, cheap ones never to the job." standing with another priest, looking at the wares of a weapons vendor was her mother. She had not seen the woman since she was chased out of her old home a month ago. And she was scared motionless, simply petrified at the sight of her own mother. Vaugely she noticed that Kaylei Riverwalker was coming closer. She willed her legs to move, to take her to safety. But it was useless, her breath started coming in short, terrified pants. Just when she thought her mother would see her, an arm surrounded her shoulders, draping a dark cloak edge over her.

"Come on, this way little one." said a soft whisper in Darnassian as the mysterious person lead her away. She realized the voice was female as she allowed herself to be taken, her feet stumbling over themselves. They passed her mother without notice but the woman continued to walk her through the crowds, Shira tried to glance up at her savior but found her head was hooded. A few minutes later they were standing in an empty section of the Craftsman's Terrance. The arm was removed and the woman spoke again, "Are you alright little one? Is whoever scared you gone?" Shira nodded, amazed that whoever this was had read the situation correctly.

"Yes, she's gone. Wh-who are you?" she asked rather dumbfounded. But the woman merely chuckled and lowered her hood,

"My name is Faranon Daggerhand." she smiled gently. Her skin was a pale-purplish color and her hair was black, hanging down her chest in two thick, long braids. Her features were so very elfish that she looked almost flawless, like a perfectly carved living statue. Two long, thin lines ran down her face, over either eye. She wore mostly black leather clothing, a pair of padded pants and a thick vest over a plain brown cloth shirt. Her boots reached her knees with metal plating over her shins, tiny hands were covered in large black gloves. Every part of her appearance screamed silent and deadly, so Shira would have called her a rouge without even seeing the beautifully carved daggers hanging from her belt. Faranon grinned again at the girl, "And what's your name, little girl?" her voice pulled Shira out of her stupor to reply,

"Shira Moonlight" she said instantly, as she had said to all of the customers she'd met. It was almost like Deliantha had died the day she meet Alino. "Well little Shira would you tell me what scared you so bad back there?" said the rogue curiously, gesturing in the direction they'd come from.

"Oh well it was-" she trailed off uncertainly but Faranon pressed on,

"You were looking at that loud priestess, but I can't work out why she scared you. Unless it was her fashion sense." her tone was teasing towards the end and she succeeded in making Shira giggle before she responded,

"She's my mother, or she used to be." she said sadly. The rogue frowned but to Shira's delight didn't press the matter.

"Well I must say, your hiding skills are severely lacking." she continued; completely serious, scratching her cheek.

"Huh?" was Shira's ever intelligent reply. But it went unnoticed by the woman.

"Of course the hiding problem is easily rectified, with proper training. It's the fear you need to work on though," Shira had no doubt that Faranon would have continued this way for a while if she didn't interrupt.

"What are you talking about?" she said, rather rudely. But Faranon merely looked interested,

"Why you need training don't you? We'll need to get started right away." this only severed to flustered the young elf more, "What do mean? Training? What are you on about?" the woman just ruffled her hair and lead her out of the alleyway,

"Just come with me, it will be fun."

* * *

Later Shira decided that was the biggest lie she'd ever been told. The rest of her afternoon had been anything but fun. Faranon had instructed her to walk behind different citizens of Darnassus copying them until she was noticed. And her instructions for what to do when she was caught was to 'Run like hell.' Something she found herself doing a lot of, because the night elves were an extremely perceptive race and in the beginning she was found rather quickly. But after a while she could trail a single target around the market for several minutes before her presence was noticed.

When she had done this, she returned to an amused Faranon who smiled and gave her another task. One which she had quite a few problems with, she was instructed to steal a piece of fruit or bread from a food vendor and successfully slip it into someone's pocket. Her first problem was with the stealing, she told her unwanted teacher this and was given the reply that it was only stealing if she could get away with it.

Needless to say she went throughout several food vendors, angry Sentinels and chases before she managed to slip an apple into a woman's basket and walk away unnoticed. She was ecstatic when she reach the stall Faranon was lounging beside. And received a hair ruffle as her prize. The day was drawing to a close when the rogue started walking her home, discussing how to best blend in with a crowd. And Shira hardly even remember she didn't even want rogue training.


	6. A Gnomish Tale

The fall of Gnomeregan was a tragic and traumatic expierance for all Gnomes and it lingers on as a bitter memory. Many of their families and friends were killed or turned into mad leper Gnomes. And what makes all of that worse was the fact that they bore witness to these events. Some try to ignore the past and move on with their lives, such as Gelbin Mekkatorque the High Tinker, King of Gnomes. Of course few of his people could move on as he did, they became obsessed with retaking their home or curing the lepers.

But their was one small Gnome, a mere child who against all odds made it out of the broken city alive who wasn't like any other refugee. Whatever happened to her during the panicked flight from Gnomeregan had rendered her unable to speak. No one was sure whether it was a reaction to the radiation or trauma or if whatever she had experienced made her decide to stop speaking. Many other gnomes looked at her with pity or understanding but the rest of the Alliance considered her an oddity.

Her name was Rafici, no last name because she'd never learned to spell it. She was a child by any races standards but she was trained as a rogue. A visiting human had seen her silence as an asset to the rogue class instead of pitying her. The man had trained her in Dun Morogh, Stormwind and Elwynn Forest. It had taken three weeks of non-stop training before she was able to continued without him. The man had walked away knowing she would be fine and never looked back.

Many remarked at how awful Rafici must had felt when he left. But she never showed sadness in fact she showed no emotion but determination at all. Her silence had taken more than her words, she was nothing more than an empty void waiting to be filled with something. It took a while for some to catch on but soon people in Ironforge realized she could learn anything.

Cooks taught her basic cooking skills and soon she was creating culinary masterpieces, teach her how to skin and she could figure out leather working on her own. A passing night elf taught her to juggle as a joke but soon she could toss knives and swords around in a deadly, effortless manor. After that she was some kind of joke, teach the gnome kid something useless and see how far she takes it.

For months Rafici endured taunts and teases from people. But she didn't understand the hurt that was being done to her. But somebody did; Jaak Cogmasher. The young warlock had left Dun Morogh after Gnomeregan fell to improve herself in the world. And when she returned she found the tragic joke that was Rafici. Jaak had screamed down a group of teasing dwarves in the middle of the Great Forge. Since them nobody had used the small rogue for entertainment and Rafici had stuck to Jaak like glue. Much to the warlock's shock Rafici had taken her defense of her as a sign of friendship. So the former loner had gained a silent companion.

The unlikely duo had attracted another gnome to them, a warrior named Galrolt Lightningrod. He met them in Loch Modan where he had rescued them from a group of Dark Iron dwarves. Of course that's what he said but Jaak remains firm in the fact that they'd nearly beaten them when Galrolt came jumping in foundering around with a sword. From then on he'd stuck around them, swearing to protect them from any evil. Jaak thinks he's nuttier than squirrel poo, but secretly thinks it's good to have another person around to help with Rafici.

Many gnomes once looked at Rafici as a reminder of all they had lost. But now they see their rag-tag group and have hope that they can rebuild what was lost. The gnomes lost faith in their king when he failed to safe their city and many doubt he will ever come up with plan to get them home. They stopped coming to the fragmented Tinker's Court for help and instead turned inward to themselves, to the young heros who persevered through tragedy. Jaak, Galrolt and Rafici weren't the only ones to answer this calling. There were many: Armona, a warrior who inspired them to never give up and Kalinea who lead a ferocious attack against the Frostman trolls or Nollup and Enuic who were brilliant tinkerers.

Soon these six gnomes were more important to the exiles than than Gelbin Mekkatorque ever was. No one else knew it but there was a silent power shift within the gnomes. The High Tinker was now a mere figure head, watching helplessly as his people reformed themselves as, The Gnomeregan Exiles lead by the Hero's Court.

* * *

**A/N: **I could have written this as a normal chapter with dialog but, meh. This was easier and I liked it. So yeah you might be ableto tell but this is going to be a complicated story


	7. The Littlest Blood Elf

Starli Everdark was a young blood elf Mage, just starting out of Sunstrider Isle. He wasn't friendly with his peers, they picked on him. For he was odd looking for a blood elf, with black hair that hung lankly around his head, gently brushing the back of his neck. His eyes glowed light green, standing out against his pale, waxy skin. He was delicate looking, with a short, thin body and little visible muscles. He dressed a bit differently as well; a dark red silk shirt and plain black pants over which he wore a long, heavy coat with gold buttons. His boots were thick and clunky, but everyone admitted that they packed quite a kick.

During his training he failed to impress his teachers, he was talented but displayed little motivation in his work. While he completed the tasks he was given, few trusted him with anything important. Mainly, he delivered things which was what he was doing at the moment.

The young mage was walking down the road to Silvermoon with a package of books for the library. Starli passed through the gates quietly and was nearing his destination when several shouts ran down the street. Apparently a summoning gone wrong had set an angry water elemental on the city and several guards and citizens were attempting to subdue it. The mage merely watch for a while and then when the elemental knocked back a few guards he decided to help.

Fire formed in his hand and he let it bulid up and up until he felt like his hand would explode before thrusting his arm forward and letting the Pyroblast explode from his fingertips. The elemental never stood a chance, the force of the attack knocked it backwards and the heat evaporated it as soon as it made contact.

Starli let the flames burn for a while before calling off his power. There was a bit of shock as the elves that were fighting looked at Starli in silence before a guard stepped forward with hand extended.

"Well done friend." he said, smiling "I am Rolahd Halfmoon, and you friend?" Starli stared at the offered hand for a moment before grasping it hesitantly and shaking it lightly,

"Starli Everdark." he said in his quiet voice. Rolahd nodded, letting go of his hand.

"You wouldn't be Moranti's brother would you?" he asked friendly as everyone began dispersing to clean up the mess. Starli nodded, thinking of his brother. Moranti was a popular warrior in Silvermoon. He was friendly and helpful, Starli thought he was too helpful. He'd not seen his brother in nearly six months as he had left before Starli started his training: he agreed to help in Undercity. Then two months previously a female ranger had mysteriously disappeared and Moranti volunteered to go with his friend Thero'dal to find her. Starli was brought from his thoughts when the guard continued talking,

"That was some powerful magic for someone so young." noted Rolahd. Starli just nodded and started walking to the library again. But Rolahd wasn't deterred and followed him down the street, "So where you headed?"

"Library." was his simple reply as he motioned to the package of books. His companion nodded,

"Those trainers working who hard then?" he said, "I remember when I first started my training. They kept saying it would get better when I moved up." he chuckled at this, "What a lie, I'm part of the Royal Guard now and I still feel like a pack horse." Starli nodded as the man continued talking. He really wasn't listening but so few people actually talked to him that he found himself enjoying the company. After the books were delivered Rolahd said he needed to get back to work and they parted no reason to return to the small training area of Sunstrider Isle the young mage instead got an inn room to spend the night.

* * *

Rolahd was a loyal guard, committed to his job. So naturally when he was involved in the elemental incident he went to give his report to his superiors. The whole process was rather boring and uneventful for all involved. that is until he mentioned the young mage in training who blasted the water elemental into nonexistence. The officials were in a state of shock when he reveled who had stopped the attack, no one believed that the dead beat Mage brother of Moranti Everdark could do such a thing.

The head Guard General was intrigued and asked for Rolahd to bring Starli to the council. When the young Mage showed up in front of the council they hardly believed he had anything to do with the water elemental's defeat.

That was until he gave them a demonstration. And after that one thing lead to another and before dinner Starli was taking the Guard's Oath.


	8. Torment of a teacher

There was nothing so sad as being a teacher and watching tragedy change your students. Or watching them become hardened by war and loss until there is nothing left of the bright excited students you used to know. Draenei trainers, Shelia and Makiral knew this but had learned to live with after many years of instructing young paladins and priests.

But one teacher never found a way to deal with it; Doriano the warrior had quit teaching and become a recluse. He had refused to take on any more students. That was until through a series off strange events, involving a Gnoll and several Murlocs landed him with three persistent young Draenei.

They were Areigon; a paladin, Kinaar; a warrior and Nemuk a priestess.

He wasn't sure why they felt the need to follow him around but after a month he got used to them. Then another month passed and he grew to like them, even to begin teaching them some of what he knew. When a third month went by he saw them almost as his children, he was so proud. He finally felt like a teacher again. But in the fourth month everything went to shit.

Nemuk mysteriously disappeared leaving nothing but her bloody sword and strange grooves in the ground. The two boys weren't the same again; it had happened again his students had been changed. And he knew again why he should have refused to teach them.

Then it got worse, he woke one morning to find no boys and a note explaining that they had gone after Nemuk. Doriano couldn't take anymore and he left his sanctuary in the Redridge mountains to go back to Azuremyst Isles. There he took comfort in his friends Shelia and Makiral.

That was six months ago, but he hasn't even looked at the young students or thought about his own. He was never one to face his demons.


	9. The madness of the mind

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_In._

_Out._

The rasping breath was coming from the cracked, dry lips of a Blood Elf. Her once beautiful long blonde hair hung lank and dirty over her thin frame. All her bones stuck out under her impossibly pale skin that was covered in a twisting labyrinth of scars. She was leaning against a blood stained wall in a room hardly bigger than a closet. A heavy ankle cuff was connected to a chain on the wall, the large piece of rusty metal was oddly large on her dainty ankle. Her green glowing eyes were murky and dim as they stared blankly into the darkness.

_It is there._

_It will open._

_I'll be free._

_Freedom._

_Open._

_Please._

Blood dripped from the side of a female Draenei's forehead, the blue liquid was covering her body. It dried into her clothes, stained her skin and was splattered all over the stone room. She was sitting a pile of it. But none of that seemed to register in her mind. Her eyes were intensely fixed on one part of the dark room. She couldn't see it but she knew it was there: the door. It was the gateway out of her living nightmare, a way back to her friends. But it was locked and she was chained to the wall. There was no way out.

_Pretty picture,_

_on the wall._

_Blood is red_

_stone is bed._

_Time is long,_

_let forever begin._

Her body shook with silent laughter as she braided long, tangled, white hair. Yellow eyes gleamed in the blackness and her long pointy ears twitched at every minuscule sound. The twisted form of what was once a night elf woman was huddled in the corner of her cell, her chained leg was sticking out awkwardly from her body. A small dirty, white mouse was sitting on the metal cuff, watching the woman with beady eyes. She paused her braiding to reach over and pat the mouse. It seemed like nothing around her was noticed, until light seeping in from a crack poured in from the wall caught her eyes.

_Tears flow._

_Eyes are blind._

_Fear in the mind._

_Terror in the heart_

_All alone._

_Where am I? _

Kalmat's tired and abused body was being dragged carelessly down a stone hallway. She had lost track of the time, slipping in and out of consciousness. But seemed her horrifying journey was nearing an end. And whether or not she wanted to know she'd soon find what was at the end. A loud creaking door was opened and her body was thrown inside, her head hit the wall, stunning her. When she regained her senses she realized her blindfold and ropes were gone but a large metal cuff was chaining her to the wall. Looking up she was blinded by the bright light and only caught a glimpse of a strange hulking form before the door was slammed shut. And then, she knew only darkness.


	10. Honor thy enemy

A Gnome was crouched in snow covered bushes, peering through the frozen foliage at a group of Frostmane trolls. Her pale, marble-like skin and silver pigtails let her blend in perfectly to her white surroundings. From afar she looked like a normal Gnome but it was only when you got closer that you noticed the distortion of her body. Two thin, jagged scars ran from the left side of her forehead, across her right eye and ended below her ear. Her left eye was blacked out from radiation and the tips of her ears were pointy not round. She was amazingly thin and lankly, instead of short and stocky.

The Gnome wasn't dressed for the the weather with her thin, black, stretchy pants and a leather chest plate with only one over the shoulder strap on the left side. White bandages covered her torso and she wore thick black leather gloves and boots.

Her name was Kalinea Frostblood, she was the Gnomish Commander in charge of the Anti-Frostmane Operations. It was a long title but one she lived up to and surpassed. After the fall of Gnomeregan she focused all her efforts on the tribe of trolls that terrorized her homeless people. There wasn't enough room for all Gnomes within dwarven settlements and with the advancing Frostmane's there was no space for them to make their own way, unharmed.

But Kalinea soon saw to that, under her leadership they were able to stop the trolls in their tracks and were slowly pushing them back. Senir and Grelin Whitebeard were sent by the Ironforge Senate but they soon found themselves working for the young Mage. Nobody could deny that she knew exactly what she was doing; everyday she came up with more and more ingenious plans. The latest of which was about to start: she glanced away from the trolls in the clearing to catch the eye of another Gnome hiding in a tree. Kalinea held up three fingers and received a nod from the other who took out a knife and held it to a rope. The rope was holding up a net filled with bombs right above their targets. She lowered the first finger.

One.

All around the clearing Gnomes tensed up, preparing to spring. She lowered another.

Two.

The Gnome in the tree sliced through the rope; the bombs fell directly on the unsuspecing trolls. The resulting explosion was large and immediate. When the smoke cleared every single troll was burned and stumbling around in a daze.

"Three!" she roared and leapt onto the back of the nearest troll, whacking his head with her staff. All around her the rest of her division was taking down the others. While the troll lay on the ground she charged a frostbolt and finished him off. The battle had been swift but noisy, every single troll lay dead in the snow. The few scratches obtained were bandaged quickly but overall no lasting damage was caused. Another Gnome approached Kalinea, a female warrior with pale blond hair in a single ponytail.

"Your plan worked," she said patting Kalinea's shoulder. "like always, yeah?" the frost Mage merely nodded and eyed the body of a troll. Unperturbed by the lack of response the warrior turned to the rest of the group. "Come on you lot! Let's clear out before any bears start sniffing around, yeah?"

With their task complete the Gnomes started to leave until only Kalinea remained. She reached into her leather armor and pulled out a thin cord dangling from her neck, hanging from it was a long bone tusk. It once belonged to a troll of the Frostmane tribe. She walked over to a female headhunter; her eyes wide and glassy as blood dribbled from her forehead across her face. Kalinea pulled out a cloth from her pocket and wiped her face clean. Then she carefully arrange the troll's body so she was laying on her back with her arms crossed over her chest and closed her eyelids. She place a hand over her heart and muttered in Zandali,

"A brave warrior has honor in battle and honor in death." she stared at the face of the troll woman who could have been sleeping and slowly stood to her feet. Kalinea turned to the next one and repeated the process until every troll her patrol had taken down was resting peacefully in the bloodstained snow. With a final, sorrowful look at the troll corpses she turned away and began her trek back to town.

* * *

That night the inn at Anvilmar was full of celebrating Gnomes and Dwarves alike. Those who had been present in the most successful attack in weeks were retelling the story over and over to eager listeners and drinks were passed all around. The energetic blond Gnome was standing atop the bar bellowing out drinking songs with a large mug of frothy ale in hand, to the general amusement of the dwarves. They found Gnomes who could hold their liquor as something of a novelty. And Armona Jinglegear could out drink entire Ironforge bars in one sitting.

From her vantage point above the crowd she was able to spot her captain entering the bar quietly before anyone else.

"HEYY! Kali, over here!" she shouted, jumping up and down, waving her arms. Her yell had alerted everyone to the presence of the Commander and she made her way to the bar with numerous pats on the back and cheers. Kalinea nodded at her friend as she leaped on from the bar and passed her a mug.

The mutated Gnome spent the night with the merry bar-dwellers with much music dancing and lots of drinking. She hardly spoke at all but nobody seemed to mind, she rarely said anything at all when she wasn't planning attacks. By the time the party was winding down Kalinea was half carrying a very drunk and sleepy Armona to an inn room.

"_Hehe _Ya know th-_hic_-this was f-f-fun." mumbled the blond as she stumbled through the door. She flashed a lopsided grin at the stoic girl, "I mean r-really Kali, ya hand wif us some m-more, yeah?" her words were horribly slurred but Kalinea nodded all the same. She was still smiling as she was helped out of her armor. The mage gave a small smile to the warrior who hiccuped gently as she laid down on the soft bed. But a frown crossed the happy Gnome's face when her friend began to leave. "Noooooo! Kaliiiii," she moaned, "Stay wif meh, y-yeah?" she let loose a yawn as Kalinea sighed and climbed in next to her. Armona giggled in victory and snuggled deep into the covers.

"You should sleep now." the mage's voice was very soft and hardly processed in her mind as she hummed contently, blinking slowly.

"Hey Kali?" she whispered across the pillow.

"Yeah?" the rely was again softly spoken.

"Ow come ya d-do it?" she mumbled. The commander remained silent for a moment, stiffening slightly.

"Do what?"

"How come you so nice to dead trollies." her mind was half asleep as she tried to stay conscious for a while longer. The blond warrior had spied on her friend after the battle and was puzzled by the strange behavior. She treated defeated enemies like fallen comrades and it made no sense. Drunk as she was she nearly missed the quiet answer.

"Because, they lived once. They were under the same sky and walked the same ground." Kalinea sighed and reached a hand to her friends face and whispered even softer, "And because someone might have loved them as much as I love you. I do it because I know that pain. It's an all consuming, never ending pain. It's the pain that I create."


	11. Goodbyes that come to soon

Two days had past. Two days since she learned what had become of her friend. Two days since she informed her guild. But now, today help was coming and they were going to find them. Teldeo was packing her bag with all her necessary equipment while she waited for the search party organized by the Hawk's Nest to arrive. She wasn't sure if anyone she knew was coming, but she was praying for at least one friendly face to take comfort in.

Alino was in the stable, absentmindedly brushing Kalar. Her traveling was packed by the door of the house, she always was ready to get up and go. And this was a journey she'd been ready to make for a long time. She stopped mid brush stroke, fingers curled in his thick fur; her yellow eyes had a far away look in them. She was going to find Delinet at last, it had been so long since she had seen him.

She still remembered exactly how he looked, time had not blurred her memories. She recalled the precise shape of his dim yellow eyes, they were softer than hers, better for going unnoticed at night he said. His long purple hair was always soft, she remembered how it slid through her fingers when she braided it.

Alino was pulled from her thoughts when one of Kalar's heads nudged her hand. Startled she looked up at her pet and saw four questioning eyes looking back. She smiled and patted his side,

"Don't worry boy, we'll get him back.

* * *

_Thunk!_

_Thunk!_

_Thunk!_

Several daggers were lodged in the bark of a tree on the edge of the Cenarion Enclave. Another one was inside the small hand of Shira, who was panting heavily and glaring at her makeshift target. The daggers were a gift from her newfound trainer. Faranon gave them to her when she told Shira that she'd be going with Alino and the others on their search. The young girl lifted the silver weapon and hurled it furriously at the tree with an anguished scream.

_Thunk!_

"**Arghh!**" She collapsed to her knees, holding her face in her palms as sobs racked her body.

They were leaving today, all of them. Her new friends, no her family was leaving her. Only a month ago her own mother had cast her out of her home and she'd thought she would be alone forever. But then Alino had come and saved her from loneliness and then she'd meet Balkkin. When Teldeo had come Shira thought it meant a new addition to her family but it wasn't to be as now they were all leaving. Even Faranon who decided to train her didn't care enough to stay.

But the little elf felt awful for wishing her friends to stay, she knew they had to go. And that made it all the worse. She wanted them to scream and hit her like her mother did, then maybe she wouldn't feel as bad. But there was no anger, only a bittersweet goodbye and the call of duty. Still the tears flowed down her cheeks and a coldness seeped from her chest.

* * *

A dark caramel skinned human girl warrior was leaning against a wall outside the Inn in Darnassus. A dwarven hunter was standing next to her talking with a young, clumsy Gnome warrior about his pet gorilla, which was resting nearby. Inside the building were the two final members of their group, a tall blond warrior and a muscular, dark haired rogue.

They were asking directions to Traveler's Paradise where they would meet up with the rest of the search party. All of them had responded to the call of their guild to help find a missing member and immediately come to the Night Elf capital. The girl was growing impatient with the wait for directions, she was eager to set out. Finally the two men came out and they set out into the city. Balkkin was out front when the Hawk's Nest members arrived, cleaning his weapons on the steps. The blond warrior stepped foreward to introduce himself first,

"Hello friend, I am Hiltone Goldsword." he held out his hand to the elf who shook it firmly.

"Balkkin Snakesinger. Thank you for coming." the man nodded and motioned to the others,

"My compaions; Ralet," the rogue nodded. "Yaniot Wildbeard," the dwarf grunted at his name. "Galrolt Lightningrod." he said pointing to the Gnome. "And Dellio Razorstrike." the dark skinned woman merely looked at Balkkin with the barest jerk of her head. The elven hunter invited them inside, and sat them all at the table with Faranon who was waiting calmly.

"I'll go get the others," he said. "Then we'll go." Balkkin was almost the back door when Alino came in with her pack and an expressionless face. "They're here." he nodded his head to the kitchen, "I'll go get Teldeo." Alino nodded and turned into the kitchen.

Upstairs Balkkin found Teldeo sitting on the floor in the biggest room with her packed equipment. Her hand rested on the flap of her bag and she was looking at it, but her eyes held a faraway look and he knew she was thinking of something else.

"It's time." he said softly, he didn't she had heard him, because it took a long pause before she nodded. she was trembling slightly as she gathered up her things but when she turned to face him her face was set in ridged lines of determination.

When they reentered the kitchen the young paladin gasped loudly,

"Hiltone!" she raced across the room and threw herself into his arms.

"Hello sister" he said somberly, patting her back. "Don't worry, I have come to help." Teldeo smiled at her brother, glad he had come.

After that there was very little to talk about, they would be traveling straight to Darkshore. There was little chance of clues to find where Shalune was kidnapped but they would ask around the towns to find which way they went. And soon they were out in the front yard, preparing to leave.

Alino stared back sadly at her home, some of the happiest times in her life happened there and now she didn't know if she would ever see it again. A large hand dropped on to her shoulder and she looked up into Balkkin's concerned eyes and forced a smile.

"Well? Let's move." said Dellio who was glancing all around and fidgeting with her sword-belt. Her tone was anxious and annoyed. Just as they were leaving a voice cried out,

"WAIT!" it was Shira and she was running full speed from the forest. Tears streamed down her face as her bare feet pounded the ground, desperate to catch them. Alino held out her arms and caught the small elf girl in a tight embrace, stroking her hair as she sobbed into her tunic.

"Shh, little one." she cooed gently, "There is no need to fret. No need for tears." Shira pulled back, wiping her eyes furiously.

"I-I'm not crying." she said firmly and Faranon nodded proudly, stepping forward.

"That a girl." the rogue master grinned, "Show no weakness and you'll be just fine until we get back."

Calming herself, the small girl reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a pretty stone she'd once found. She held it out to the woman who had become almost a mother to her.

"Here," she said her words sounded strange, almost like a holy blessing. "Go safely, and quickly. Don't let anyone veer you off your course and you will make it." Alino stared curiously at the child, taking the stone she felt a warmth spread through her fingers. Suddenly feeling braver than ever she turned to the search party and lead the way out of the city.

She didn't look back to see the tears sliding down the face of a girl who had been abandoned once again. Each one like a tiny crystal, falling to the ground and shattering as silently as her heart.


End file.
